The Natural

"I should have realized you'd sponsor tournaments," she said as she wiped her brow with a towel from the gym. "I'm guessing you've played in a few. Am I right?"

Josh had not only played in a lot of them, he'd won a few.

"A couple," he said modestly.

"Well, I'm clearly not in your league, but I just got my money's worth by watching you trash me," Cecily said with a smile. "I learned a lot by seeing how you play."

"Thanks for the games and the workout. I really enjoyed playing with you," Josh told her honestly.

"Same here," she told him.

Josh got ready to open the door for her then asked, "Do you play or enjoy any other sports besides tennis?"

"What don't I play or enjoy would be a shorter list," she told him. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was wondering if you're into air hockey or foosball. I enjoy both of those."

Cecily laughed and told him, "Oh, wow. Umm...I can't say I'm any good at either one—especially foosball, but I always enjoyed playing air hockey. I mean, I've only played a half dozen times or so, but I always had fun."

She paused then asked again, "Why do you ask?"

"One of my favorite places is a sports bar that has several tables. I was um...wondering if you might like to, you know, hang out and play a few games."

Josh was smiling but his eyebrows were also raised slightly which told her he was asking a serious question.

"You want to hang out...with me?" she asked, her voice rising in pitch at the end.

"Well...yeah. You're really fun to be around and...well, you're also very attractive and if you wouldn't mind hanging out with the likes of me, I'd very much enjoy your company."

Cecily could tell he was being serious.

"Oh, I don't know, Josh. I mean, wouldn't someone like Heather be a better choice? I'm not exactly young and hep. Or is that hip? Maybe the better question is, 'does anyone even use that word anymore'?"

Josh laughed then told her, "You know how...young I thought you were, and I have to say I'd be proud to be seen with you. But if you wouldn't feel the same way about hanging out with me then I understand. I just thought I'd ask."

He opened the door but Cecily stopped after taking one step then stepped back inside and Josh closed the door.

"You know what? That might be a lot of fun. But...I can't do this to Heather. Even though it's just 'hanging out' she would be very hurt."

"I thought you might say that," Josh told her with another smile. "It just so happens I have a younger brother who's 20 and single; single as in not dating anyone. So how about we all 'hang out' together and see if maybe they hit it off? Or maybe see if...we hit it off."

Now it was Cecily's turn to laugh. "Hit it off! You're a very charming young man, Josh. And I'll admit you're also very handsome. But you and me? Hitting it off? I'm flattered you'd even want to 'hit it off' with me, but please be serious. Hanging out and having fun is one thing. Hitting it off is something else altogether."

Cecily tilted her head then asked, "And what if after meeting your brother she still..." Cecily sang, "She...only has eyes...for...you?"

Josh laughed then got a bit more serious. "Okay. Good point. If that's the case then I guess that's that. I would never intentionally hurt her feelings. I hope you know that, Cecily. But were Heather to really push it, I would have to let her know I'm not interested. Very politely, of course."

He smiled then said, "Well, not in her, that is."

Cecily sighed deeply then managed a kind of wry smile before saying, "Okay. But promise me you're clear that this is just hanging out."

"Yeah, sure. Of course. Just two people who... Okay, maybe make that four people, who enjoy each other's company spending some time together."

He smiled then told her, "And don't think I'm gonna take it any easier on you in air hockey than racquetball."

"Oh, I think I can hold my own in that arena," she said pretending to be serious. "When were you thinking of playing?"

"Is tonight too soon?" he asked her.

"Oh. Wow. Um...no, I don't suppose so," she told him. "When and where should we meet you?"

"How about 8 o'clock? There's an arcade called Pacific Northwest Games on Aurora Avenue. I can text you the exact address. I kind of got your number from your membership application," he added sheepishly.

"Oh...I see," see replied pretending to be offended as though he'd done something awful. "Okay. Eight it is and we'll see you there—if Heather agrees."

Cecily couldn't believe she'd just agreed to this. Then again, she'd spent every night at home with Carol since arriving in Seattle and this was her first opportunity to get out, and air hockey was so different and so fun it sounded quite enjoyable. Besides, she didn't drink alcohol or eat fatty foods so this was preferable to drinks and dinner. Then again, she wouldn't even consider such a thing with a guy Josh's age. But air hockey and even foosball might be a whole lot of fun.

On their way out Heather asked, "What in the world took you so long? You were in there like forever just talking and smiling and laughing and talking some more."

"Josh wanted to know if you and I would like to 'hang out' with him and his brother at an arcade tonight. He loves playing air hockey and foosball and thought we might like..."

"Are you kidding? I hope you told him 'yes'. You did say 'yes', right Grandma?" she said in an almost demanding tone.

"I told him I'd discuss it with you and if you wanted to we could..."

Heather stopped and hugged her grandmother so suddenly it startled her.

"I love you so much, Grandma! Maybe hanging out with you is cooler than I thought!"

Barely able to breathe, Cecily patted her back and said, "I'm very glad, honey."

"And don't worry, I'll wear something appropriate, okay?" Heather said as she released her death grip.

Later that evening, Cecily told Heather she looked very nice when she came downstairs wearing a rather tight-fitting pink tee-shirt and a pair of white shorts with white tennis shoes.

"Do you think Josh will like it?" she asked hopefully.

"I don't see why he wouldn't. It's very cute," her grandmother told her honestly.

"You look really nice, too, Grandma."

"Thank you, honey," Cecily replied.

She was wearing a sleeveless, black knit top with a pair of tan shorts and, like Heather, a pair of white tennis shoes.

"I want to be able to move from side to side when we're playing air hockey. Sandals are cuter but I don't want a blister so these are in, sandals are out."

"I can't do any side-to-side movements, but I can stand still and play. And I can definitely watch and cheer Josh on," Heater informed her grandmother.

"Let me go check on your mom one more time and then we can head out, okay?"

Carol assured her she was just fine. She had her feet propped up and was watching a movie on the Hallmark Channel.

"Go out. Have fun. And thank you for doing things with Heather, Mom. You've been such a good influence on her and I love that the two of you get along so well."

"Okay, honey. Call me if you need me, okay? We can be home in 15-20 minutes."

"I'll be fine. Go enjoy yourselves. Please."

The parking lot was very full, but the 'girls' eventually found a spot and walked inside.

"It's freezing in here!" Cecily said. "I knew I should have brought my sweater."

"Come on...Mom... Once you get warmed up playing air hockey, you'll be fine," Heather told her.

"Oh...my...God!" she said again grabbing her grandmother's bare arm. "Speaking of fine..."

"Hi there, ladies!" they heard Josh say as he approached them.

"Oh, my God! Who is that with him?" Heather whispered.

"Ladies? This is my brother, Jason. Jason, this is Heather and her um...mother, Cecily."

"Pleasure," he told them both. "Can we get you ladies anything to drink? Maybe a Coke?"

"Hah! My gr...mom...is a health nut. She wouldn't drink a Coke if she was dying of thirst," Heather interjected. "Not even diet Coke!"

"I see. Okay, maybe a bottle of water then?" Jason asked.

"I'm fine," Cecily told him. Heather assured him she was, too.

"Come on. We've got a table reserved," Josh said as he motioned for them to go ahead.

As Cecily went by him he said very quietly, "Wow. You look amazing!"

Cecily smiled and played off his compliment with a quick thank you.

"Okay. Ladies first. Heather? Why don't you pick someone to play with."

Without hesitation, Heather smiled and said loudly, "Jason!"

"Okay. Cecily? I guess it's you and me against the Dynamic Duo."

"Age vs beauty, huh?" she said in a polite way.

"No, I'd say...beauty vs beauty at least as far as you ladies are concerned."

"I'll second that!" Jason said smiling first at Cecily then at Heather.

Jason hit the puck first and sent it flying toward Cecily who blocked the shot as Josh played it off the rebound and slammed it back the other way. Heather's ankle was still very sore and that, plus her own lack of any skill, made her the weak link at the table. Josh took it easy on her and Jason picked up most of the slack on their end keeping the game fairly close.

Josh and Cecily won by two points with Cecily firing a winning bank shot against Jason.

"All right!" Josh said high-fiving his partner.

"Okay, winners keep the table so it looks like you vs me now, Cecily. Think you can keep up?" he teased.

"Oh, I think I can give you a run for your money," she said as she went to the other end.

Once she was in place she said, "Bring it!"

The next several minutes was a blur of fakes, slams, and bank shots. Josh did win the game by four points, but he was very impressed by Cecily's play.

"Just like racquetball, you're a natural. I didn't cut you any slack," he told her as Jason and Heather took over the table.

"You're very good at this, too," Cecily admitted. "Is there any sport you don't play?"

"Um...croquette? Polo? Cricket?"

Cecily laughed and said, "Any American sport?"

"Hmmm. I pretty much enjoy them all. How about you?"

They stood and talked while their counterparts played. It was obvious Jason was going easy on Heather who, judging by her constant smile and continual flirting, seemed to having a very nice time.

"Oh. Before I forget, Jason said he thinks Heather is awesome," Josh mentioned.

"That's wonderful! I'm so glad to hear that. You know, you two look almost like twins."

Josh smiled and said, "Yeah, but I'm the older, smarter, more handsome twin, right?"

Cecily jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow and said, "I'll grant you the older part. You'll have to prove the 'smarter' and I'll give you a solid 'maybe' on being better looking."

"Ouch! I'm hurt!" Josh said pretending he'd just taken an arrow.

"Come on. We're back up," Cecily said with a laugh as Jason clearly gave Heather the last shot and the game.

Heather was so excited she threw her arms around Jason and hugged him. He hugged her back and told her she did great. She suddenly needed his arm around her to help her make it the ten feet to the side of the table and he gladly offered it. As his arm came down, Heather immediately reached for his hand which Jason willingly took.

Cecily watched them walk (or limp) off together toward the refreshments area as she and Josh went at it again. This time she only lost by two points and managed to 'ace' him twice during the game. Once, she head faked him then slammed the puck right by him when he took the bait.

"Dang, gurl! You're getting too good too fast. Maybe we should move on to foosball."

"You're just afraid I'm going to win one in front of all these people," she teased.

Quite a few people had gathered around to watch and were clearly rooting for Cecily. She wasn't sure whether to be flattered or offended when someone who looked to be around 18 said, "My money's on the hot MILF!"

Josh had given him a death stare and he'd gotten quiet as quickly as he'd gotten loud.

"Sorry, man. No offense. But she is hot," he said in his defense.

Josh had smiled then looked at Cecily and said, "Yeah, you got that right."

When they finished they gave up the table and Cecily was wondering where Heather had went.

Josh stood on his toes and looked around.

"There they are."

He was pointing to a row of barstools where they were sitting and drinking a Coke.

"Can I get you that bottled water now?" Josh asked as they joined the others.

"That sounds nice. Thank you, Josh."

"Comin' right up!" he told her.

"So did you win...Mom?" Heather asked.

"No. Not quite. But the next time we play, he better watch out!" she said just as Josh came back with a cold bottle of Dasani water.

"Watch out for what?" he said.

"Me," Cecily told him.

"She said she's gonna kick your ass, dude," Jason offered.

Josh laughed then said, "I don't doubt that. She's really good—at everything."

They sat and talked for a while then Jason asked Heather if she'd like to go take a look around.

"Yes. Definitely!" she said with a happy smile.

"I'm gonna show her the rest of arcade okay, bro?" Jason told his brother.

"Have fun," Josh said. "And take it easy that ankle, okay, Heather?"

As they got ready to leave, Heather leaned over and quietly said, "Oh, my gosh! Jason is even hotter than Josh, Grandma!"

Cecily just laughed and also wished her a good time.

"So now what?" she asked Josh.

"Well, now we finally have some time alone," he replied. "I'd say things are going rather well with Heather and my little brother."

Cecily laughed and told him what Heather had just said.

"Excellent!" Josh said. "So now that there's no conflict of interest, I was wondering if you might like to do something else together. Just you and me, that is."

Cecily nearly spewed her water as she was swallowing a swig when he said 'just you and me'.

"What? As in a date? Josh, you can't be serious. Hanging out and playing air hockey with Heather and Jason is one thing, but..."

"But what?" Josh asked seriously.

"Josh. Please. I was being honest when I said you were charming and good looking, but...a date? That's...that's just...silly."

Josh got very serious, put his hands on hips and looked right at her.

"I never took you for one of those people."

"One of what people?" Cecily said knowing something was up.

"I don't mean to be rude, but well...you're...you're an ageist."

"An ageist?" she said her eyebrows raised high. "And just what is an ageist?"

"You know, someone who won't date someone based solely on their age. I just never thought you could be like that. I mean, would you refuse to date someone of a different religion, race, or creed? Would you shut someone out because he's from a different social class?"

Josh got even more dramatic as he pled his case.

"I'm not responsible for the time of my birth, you know. It wasn't like my parents sat down and discussed it with me. That would have been the right thing to do, but...NO! They just went right on ahead and brought me into the world when they wanted to without my permission."

Cecily was trying not to laugh but Josh was winning out.

"And as bad as that is, you hold it against me. You blame me for the year of my birth and exclude me from your circle of...date-ees."

"Oh, brother!" Cecily said unable to keep from smiling.

"No. No, I'm right. You're an ageist through and through. I can't believe I agreed to be seen with you in public!" he said finalizing his argument. "I mean, you may as well be wearing an armband with a big 'A' on it!"

"You're a nut," she told him. "Sweet but nutty."

He leaned toward her and craned his neck her way then said, "Nutty for you."

Cecily laughed loudly enough that she covered her mouth.

"Okay, stop! You're making me laugh!"

"So you are having a good time. I knew it!" Josh said triumphantly.

"I suppose so," Cecily said holding back her enthusiasm. "Well, maybe a little."

"So give yourself an opportunity to have another nice time with me. I'm a pretty good conversationalist and a reasonably good dancer, too. I'm guessing a beautiful, sophisticated woman like yourself enjoys dancing so why don't you let me take you out somewhere where I can show you off?"

"I do love to dance," she admitted. "I just don't know, Josh. It's not like we're going to start dating or anything so..."

"Oh, boy. There you go again!"

"I do?" she asked suddenly confused.

"Yep. You're making all of these assumptions and they're all based on age. You know it and I know it. And knowing that makes you an..."

"An ageist. Okay, I get it," Cecily told him.

"So will you let me take you dancing? I'm talking about real dancing here, okay? Not the stuff kids my um...age do. I'm talking Waltz, Fox Trot, and the like. And I'm pretty good at those, too, I'll have you know."

"You're not going to take 'no' for an answer, are you?" she said with a smile.

"Not without a fight," he said pretending to be defensive.

"Okay. One date. No, not an actual date. Dancing. Just dancing. No dinner, no drinks no...nothing. Just dancing."

"Deal!" he said sticking out his hand.

Cecily accepted it and when she did he pulled her close and surprised her even more when he kissed her on the cheek.

It wasn't a real kiss and yet just being that close to someone so handsome and... desirable...was unsettling but in a very pleasant sort of way.

"Um, we should probably go find Heather and Jason, don't you think?" Cecily said as he moved back and slowly let go of her hand.

"Oh, right. They can't be too far. This place is big but not that big," Josh said.

He extended his hand toward her and said, "Come on. Let's go find them."

Cecily looked at it then looked at him then back at his hand before reluctantly taking it. Her mind was telling her to just stand up and keep her hands at her side and yet she was unable to stop herself from putting her hand in his as she slid off the barstool.

They walked around the perimeter of the arcade visually sweeping it for any sign of the missing pair. There was a balcony at the back end where a small group of people were standing in the unseasonably warm night air.

"Ah-hah! Right there," Josh said pointing at one of the large glass windows.

"Oh, my," Cecily said as she looked in the direction he was pointing. "I would say they're getting along rather well."

"I guess you could say that," Josh said.

He was still holding her hand, but as he opened the door to the balcony, she gently pulled away, too self-conscious to be seen by Heather who was in a kind of lip-lock with Jason.

"AHEM!" Josh said loudly as he walked up behind his brother.

"Oh. Hey, bro," he said turning around and looking at Cecily rather sheepishly.

"It's okay with me," she said knowing he was aware she'd seen them.

As Heather stepped up and beside Jason to face Josh and her grandmother, Jason said, "Your grandma is really cool."

"Grandma?" Cecily said wondering what was going on.

"Oh, I told Jason about our little plan," she admitted.

"Oh, right. Our plan," Cecily repeated.

The guys both laughed as Josh said, "I kind of spilled the beans anyway. I let Jason know who you really are to Heather before we got here."

"What? Grandma! You told Josh you're not my mom?" Heather said in a huff.

"I...I kinda did," she said also in a very sheepish tone.

"Gee thanks, Grandma!" Heather said indignantly.

"Yeah, shame on me for telling the truth," she teased pleasantly.

"WHAT—ever!" Heather said with her attitude showing.

"You guys ready?" Josh asked wanting to get off of the 'outing' thing.

Jason looked at Heather who put her hand in his then said, "Um, not really, bro. We were thinking about hanging out for a while longer."

The fact that he didn't ask if they wanted to join them told him they wanted to be alone.

"I'll pay for Heather's taxi ride and make sure she gets home safely," Jason promised Cecily. "And we won't be that late."